You would have been forgiven for thinking the days of Jose Mourinho leading teams to European finals were over.
From 2002 to 2010, Mourinho-coached sides appeared in two Champions League finals and one UEFA Cup showdown. On each occasion, The Special One triumphed.
He had to wait seven years for his next appearance in a continental showpiece, but he kept up his 100 per cent record – Manchester United beating Ajax to lift the 2016-17 Europa League trophy.
But that was an early peak in Mourinho s United tenure. His stock has since fallen. He was sacked in 2018 and then lasted just 18 months at Tottenham, the only club he has managed so far where he has not won a trophy.
He might have had the opportunity to win the EFL Cup with Spurs, though he was sacked before that rescheduled match could take place. Hard lines.
It was hard not to feel Mourinho s race had been run. He can no longer be considered among the truly elite managers, and that was reflected as he rocked up at Roma.
Not that Roma, three-time champions of Italy, are by any means a small club. They were in the Champions League semi-finals as recently as 2018.
Yet, their last title came in 2001 and their last trophy of any description came in 2008 when they won the Coppa Italia for the ninth time. Ironically, Mourinho s Inter then beat Roma in the Supercoppa Italiana at the start of the following season, the last time the Giallorossi had a chance to win a piece of silverware.
4 José Mourinho is the first manager to reach the final of a major European competition with four different clubs, having done so with Porto (UEFA Cup Champions League), Inter (Champions League), Man Utd (Europa League) and now Roma (Europa Conference League). Special.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
But Mourinho is a winner, and now he has the chance to remind everyone of that. He is back in a European final as Roma get the opportunity to win their first major European trophy. No other coach has reached the final of a major European competition with four different clubs.
I am a coach with a certain history and Roma are a big club, he told UEFA s Italian website. I did feel a little bit of responsibility to make this a big competition.
The Conference League is our Champions League. This is the level we are at, the competition we are playing for. The club has not reached a game like this for a very long time.
The Europa Conference League may have been scoffed at when it was introduced but for fans of Roma, and their opponents Feyenoord, continental glory that would otherwise have evaded them is now within their grasp.
With a record-breaking striker leading the line in the form of Tammy Abraham, Mourinho might just have a fifth European title under his belt.
Life in the old dog?
Mourinho has overseen 54 games so far at Roma, triumphing in 28 of them to give him a win percentage of 52.
That is a slight dip from the 55 per cent in 2020-21, though that was over three fewer matches, but an improvement on the 46 per cent (from 35 games) and 42 per cent (from 24 fixtures) in 2019-20 and 2018-19 respectively.
Roma won 18 Serie A games this season, ensuring a place in the Europa League through a sixth-placed finish.
His 47 per cent win ratio in the league ranks him 10th out of Roma coaches to have overseen at least 10 games, while his 52 per cent in all competitions puts him joint-sixth, alongside predecessor Paulo Fonseca, of those bosses to have taken charge of at least 20 matches.
Perhaps Mourinho s decline is highlighted by the fact he is placing so much emphasis on winning UEFA s third-tier club tournament, but from Roma s perspective, that desire will surely be welcome.
Abraham the key?
Having been deemed surplus to requirements at Chelsea, Abraham has become something of a cult figure at Roma.
Abraham called Mourinho the best manager in the world in an interview with talkSPORT in April, and he has certainly thrived under the Portuguese s guidance.
He has scored 27 goals across all competitions this season, one better than the previous best tally he had managed, which was 26 goals for both Bristol City (in 2016-17) and Aston Villa (2018-19), albeit both of those campaigns were in the Championship.
It has been a record-breaking season for Abraham. A first-half double against Torino on Friday saw the 24-year-old become the highest-scoring English player in a single season in the Italian top flight, surpassing the previous mark of 16 set by Gerald Hitchens at Inter in 1961-62.
The only Roma player to score more than the England international s haul of 17 in a debut Serie A season with the club was Rodolfo Volk, who registered 21 in the 1929-30 campaign.
17 Among players at their first season in Serie A, only Rodolfo Volk (21 in 1929/30) has scored more goals than Tammy (17) with AS Roma. Predator.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo)
He has featured in all but one of Roma s league games, starting 36 times and averaging a goal every 182 minutes, converting 17.8 per cent of his 95 shots, which ranks better than two of his seasons in the Premier League (13.33 per cent in 2017-18 and 16.22 in 2019-20).
Abraham has scored nine times from 13 Conference League appearances and he has proved many doubters wrong this season.
With a place in Gareth Southgate s World Cup squad later this year potentially up for grabs, playing a pivotal role in Roma s maiden European success would be some way to cap a fine campaign and seal his name in Giallorossi folklore.
